The Puppet Master
by lostsouloftheunderworld
Summary: The power and fear of the Dark Lord Voldemort is rising,and the ministry must take drastic action. Their solution: Project Gemini. Pureblood children, taken from their families, their memories erased, never told who or what they are. DM/HP
1. Chapter 1

**The Puppet Master**

By lostsouloftheunderworld

**Summary: **

**A/n: ** This story will follow the life of my O/C, Jenifer Princeton (Aurora Lestrange) and will mainly be key moments from here and there to make the story flow. Just warning you now, this story will contain torture, depressing thoughts, suicide and guy on guy. If any of this offends you then this story probably isn't for you, and I will stick by my principal 'if you don't like it, don't read it.' Enjoy!

**Chapter 1: Project Gemini**

The cold winter air nipped relentlessly at Albus Dumbledore's robes as he strode up the long, winding path that led to the Lestrange Manor. Behind him, he could hear the rustle of the Aurors moving into their positions. He let out a short sigh. He and the minister had argued relentlessly about their presence for the past few days. He was not here to fight with the Lestranges'; all he wanted was the child.

The Aurors were not known for their gentle, easy going spirit in these times. With the fear of the Dark Lord growing daily, the Aurors could not afford to let the guilty escape. A lot of good people had already lost their lives and many more sat awaiting the Dementor's Kiss in Azkaban. Were the Aurors really any different from the Death Eaters they hunted? Both killing to achieve their goals, neither caring about the trail of pain and destruction they left behind them. Albus pushed the thought out of his mind as he rapped his fist against the cold, hard wood of the door frame.

After almost five minutes the door flew open, revealing a rather bedraggled looking Bellatrix with a scowl ready on her face and her wand gripped tightly in her fist. As her eyes lay upon Dumbledore, Bellatrix took a step back, drawing a sharp gasp before gathering her wits and shoving her wand into the throat of the old wizard standing in front of her.

"Why are you here? What do you want?" The witch's voice was a hiss, threatening on the verge of hysteria. Albus simply smiled, his eyes twinkling in the moonlight.

"I'm simply here to talk Bella." Albus swatted aside Bella's wand, striding past her into the grand entrance hall. "My, it's been a long night. And my throat is so incredibly dry." The wizard cleared his suggestively, raising an eyebrow expectantly at the witch before him. Bella sighed, grinding her teeth together in an attempt to hold back the curses on the tip of her tongue.

"SERVUS!" Bella's enraged scream echoed through the vast emptiness of the house, causing a few of the paintings to glare, or voice their disapproval. A house elf apparated in front of the witch, looking up at her with wide eyes full of terror and bowing low to the floor.

"Y-ye-yes mistress?" Bella glared at the terrified elf, resisting the urge to yell at him for his incompetence to hold himself together.

"Put the kettle on. It appears Mr Dumbledore will be staying a while." The witch could hardly keep the contempt from her voice as she eyed the wizard with suspicion. What business could he possibly have here? And at this hour? Bella rubbed sleep from her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "And while you're at it, wake Rodolphus. Tell him we have a visitor." Servus nodded eagerly, bowing so low his ears and nose touched the floor.

"So kind of you Bella." Albus nodded his thanks before turning to beam at the terrified elf. "Milk and two sugars if you please. Oh, and Servus, should you ever get tired of working for the Lestranges', there will always be a position vacant at Hogwarts for you." The house elf gave a startled squeak, turning his tear-filled eyes towards his mistress.

"Mr Dumbledore is very kind, but Servus loves Mistress. Mistress is good to Servus! Servus will not leave! Please Mistress, do not hurt Servus! Servus loves Mistress!" Servus threw himself at the witches feet, clinging tightly to her legs and covering her in kisses and tears.

Bella scowled, driving the toe of her boot into the wailing elf's ribs, effectively shutting him up.

"Get off me you stupid creature! Now, TEA!" The elf scuttled off towards the kitchen, wailing and wiping his nose on his pillowcase uniform as he went. Bella turned her attention back to the wizard. "You will have your tea, make your point, and then you will get out or, Merlin help me, I will hex you into next week!"

The wizard only smiled, his eyes twinkling in a way that only served to further enrage the witch before turning on his heels and making his way by heart to Rodolphus' study, leaving a rather perplexed witch behind him.

~0~

Albus clutched his tea in one hand and an assortment of lollies in the other, sighing happily as he popped his 14th chocolate frog into his mouth. Bella sat across from him, eyeing the wizard with a mixture of disgust and suspicion.

"These really are excellent, Bella. You simply must get your house elf to give me the recipe." Bella pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a long swig of her firewisky before turning her sights back to the old wizard.

"Now you listen here!" Bellatrix screamed loud enough to wake the dead. "You barge your way into my home, eat my sweets, drink my tea without so much as a how-do-you-do! You fucking tell me right now what business you have here or I swear to Merlin I'll fucking hex your ba..."

"Mamma?" A tiny black head of curls poked around the door frame, looking up with wide, sleepy eyes at her enraged mother. "Mamma I heard you shouting. Are you alright? Who is he?"

"Aurora, go back to bed this instant!" Bella threw herself between the wizard and her child, a crazed gleam in her eye.

"I can't Mamma, there are nasty men down the hall making lots of noise."

"What men?" The witch eyed Albus with suspicion, quickly daring a glance down the hallway that housed her daughter's and her own rooms. "Where's your father?"

"Daddy's asleep on the floor. I tried to wake him up but he wouldn't get up. The nasty men were there to." Bella took off at a sprint down the corridor to her bed chambers, leaving her little girl with the twinkling wizard.

"RODOLPHUS! Get away from him or I'll..." there was an echoing thud as Bella hit the floor, her wand still grasped firmly in her hand as she collapsed on the lifeless body of her husband.

Aurora cocked her head to the side. "Mamma?" With that, Albus stood, a sad smile on his face as he pointed his wand at the three year old.

"Obliviate."

~O~

Albus adjusted the sleeping three year old on his hip, a small smile lighting up his face as she snuggled deeper into his beard. The aurors slowly made their way from the manor, dragging the lifeless body of Rodolphus Lestrange and his half conscious wife behind him, her hysterical wails echoing in the night.

"Albus." The minister for magic, Cornelius Fudge, moved slowly to stand behind Albus, his hand ruffling Aurora's curls. "I see you've taken care of the child." Albus refused to meet the minster's eyes. "Look, Albus, I know you don't agree with this, but Project Gemini will save hundreds, if not thousands of lives. She is one child. Surely you can't think one child is more important than the entire wizarding world?"

Albus sighed and looked the minister dead in the eye. "You say you do this for the good of the wizarding community, but really, you're no better than the death eaters. Because of you, this child will never know her mother. Because of you, this child will never know her father because you ordered your men to kill him. Because of you, this child will never know who or what she is. She will be called a freak. She will be outcast by both the wizard and muggle communities. She..."

"She will have a new life! A better life! She will have a family who loves her and she will never have to be concerned with this war. She's luckier than all of us. She has a way out, which is more than the rest of us can say."

"She had a family who loved her." Albus voice was deathly quiet. "And you just killed one and gave the other a life sentence in Azkaban."

"I'm sorry Albus, are you supporting the Lestrange's?" The minister lowered his voice, the thinly veiled threat hanging heavily in the air between them.

"...I didn't say that Cornelius, and you know it. The Lestrange's were death eaters, yes, but you cannot doubt that they loved their child. She's all Bella has left now. By killing Rodolphus, you've undone all the hard work the ministry has put into this. It will be the downfall of your precious Project Gemini in the end."

"If I wanted your opinion, Albus, I'd ask for it." Cornelius roughly grabbed hold of the child, and causing her to cry out in her magical sleep. The minister looked at the child with a mixture of confusion and disgust before quickly passing her to the closest auror. "Well, we'd better be off. Her _parents _will be expecting her." The minister turned and began making his way slowly to the apperation point.

"Cornelius, wait!" The minister turned, looking expectantly at the older wizard. "Please, promise me one thing. If she shows magical ability, she must come to school. You think it's dangerous to teach her to use her gift, but it might be just as dangerous not to teach her." Cornelius nodded.

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it." And with that the minister was gone.

~O~

Somerset Close was a street, much like any other in muggle London. It was situated in a well respected neighbourhood, filled with nice houses and nice, hard working people. It was perfect, Cornelius observed as he apperated to the small park that sat in the middle of it all. This was precisely why he had chosen it. It was the last place anyone would ever expect to find the children.

The minister took the sleeping child from the arms of his assistant, plastering a fake, confident smile on his face. Albus' words still roared in his ears, nagging at every tiny doubt. No! He was the Minister of Magic. And what was Dumbledore? The headmaster of crumbling school, both past their prime. What did Dumbledore know? How could he possibly consider himself better than the minister?

Cornelius straightened his robes and dismissed the auror before striding pompously to the house. The slight pressure of the wards pressed against him, before realising who he was and giving way to let him through.

The door flew open before he could even knock, revealing a rather frazzled looking Alice Princeton, the Nott boy balanced precariously on her hip as he desperately tried to free himself from her grasp.

"Oh , Cornelius. We weren't expecting you until tomorrow. You've brought the Lestrange girl already?" Alice carefully put the screaming child in a nearby armchair, drawing her wand from the folds of her dress and pointing it at the child. "I'm sorry James! Muffliato!"

The wailing child was instantly silenced. Alice leaned against the door frame, her fingers delicately massaging her temples. The minister simply raised an eye brow in amusement. The witch simply glared.

"Fudge, when you offered me this job, I understood that I would have to work longer hours, I understood that I would have to give up my friends and family, I understood every word that left my mouth would be a lie and I understood that I would never have a life outside of this again. But in all seriousness, what did I do to you to make you wish my death by screaming, little, spoilt, pureblood brats? And what in Merlins' name are you using on them? Adult brains would start to break down with all the obliteration you're doing, and their brains are still young and fragile, as if they weren't already deranged enough from being interbred." Alice paused her rant only when the lack of oxygen in her system reached a critical level.

"Do you know what it's like not to sleep for days on end because you have to spend every waking moment looking after ten children? Ten children who aren't even mine, might I add!"

"I'm sorry, Alice. You were the only one for the job. You are one of the best aurors the ministry had and I've never seen anyone cope quite so well under pressure as you. Without you, this project would have fallen apart." Alice sighed, and, much to the minister's delight, swallowed his carefully chosen words without a second thought.

"I...I'm sorry minister. My head is killing me and I can't think straight." Alice reached out her arms to take the newest addition to her family from the ministers' crushing grip. "And what's your new name, little one?"

"Jenifer." The minister sounded bored.

"Jenifer. Jenifer Princeton. That's a beautiful name."

**A/N: Hi guys! You all still awake? This is a little bit different from what I usually write, but that was the aim. I haven't written in a while so please excuse me if it takes a few chapters to warm up. Well, what did you think? I'm dying to know! Why don't you lovely people all click the nice, shiny, blue review button just down there? You know the one! Should I continue? Let me know! And remember, the more reviews, the faster I work! I'm also looking for an editor if anyone is interested.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n: Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry this chapter took so long, but I went to Europe for a month with no internet or computer. How I'm still alive is a modern miracle! That and I've been swamped by nasty teachers and exams since I got back, not to mention all the pressure they're placing on us to choose subjects and courses for year 11. Personally, I just want to survive year 10 before I even start thinking about year 11. Thanks to everyone who read this story and I hope I won't disappoint you with this chapter. This is set four years later on Jennifer's 7****th**** birthday. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2: Happy Birthday My Baby.**

Jenifer's eyes slowly fluttered open as the soft glow of the morning sun penetrated her curtains and crept across the room. For a minute her eyes squeezed shut again, trying desperately to regain the peace sleep bought her but to no avail. Sighing, she forced her heavy lids open and her stiff legs from the warmth of her covers.

"SURPRISE!" Jenifer jumped back with a start as her bedroom door was flung open, the chorus of her family filling the room.

"W-what is this?" The tiny girl held her heaving chest, trying to regain control of her breathing as her family filled in, complete with balloons, cake and presents.

"You've forgotten?" Alice Princeton entered with two small boys, one bouncing on each hip as she walked over to her daughter, pressing her lips lovingly to her daughter's unruly black curls. "Happy Birthday my baby." The words were barely a whisper, just loud enough for the two of them to hear, their little secret. Jenifer smiled, seating herself back on the mattress where her siblings had already begun piling her presents. A smile spread across her tiny face as she took in the setting. A small pang echoed in her chest, puzzling her. She had been expecting it, but that never made it any less confusing. It always happened on her birthday, and Christmas, though she was never sure why. She always felt there was something missing...someone missing.

"Well, aren't you going to open them?" Samantha asked, noticing her little sister's discomfort. Jenifer quickly snapped back to reality, shooting a quick smile at her onlooking siblings before grabbing the nearest box and slowly ripping the wrappings from it.

By the end, a small pile of assorted clothes and toys lay piled on the end of Jenifer's bed and the faces of the younger children were smeared with chocolate frosting.

"Well," Alice sighed, hauling herself to her feet. "I'd better get this lot cleaned, changed and down for the naps." A chorus of 'we're not tired Mummy!' and collective groans issued from the small gathering of the floor.

Alice smiled, ushering the children out with the help of Samantha. "Would you mind giving me a hand sweetheart?" Sam smiled sweetly and nodded.

"Sure Mum. I'll be right there. I'll just quickly tidy up in here and I'll meet you in the bathroom. Okay?" Alice smiled and shot her daughter a grateful glance before hurrying out of the door.

Samantha turned to her sister, not wasting any time to get to her point.

"Jen, there's something I have to give you, but you can't ask questions. You must hide them straight away and never tell anyone you have them. Do you understand?" Sam grabbed her sister's shoulder, sinking to look her in the eye.

"Sam, you're scaring me. What's going on?" Jenifer began to back away from her sister, scrambling backwards until her back was pressed firmly against the wall. Sam walked forward, grabbing her sister to hold her in place.

"I'm sorry Jen. I never meant to scare you, but this is important. You can't tell anyone, especially Mum and Dad. Can you do that for me?" Jen shook her head refusing to look her sister in the eye.

"Leave me alone! I won't lie to them! You're scaring me! Let me go!" Sam took a step back, pulling a 12" black wooden stick from the folds of her dress.

"Muffliato." The air shimmered slightly, forming a dome over the room before fading into nothing. "Jen, I'm sorry to have to say this, but you don't have a choice."

Jen pressed herself further into the wall. This wasn't like Sam. In a way, she was there, but not there. Her usually kind features had morphed into something hard and arrogant, while her eyes shone with a manic light.

"Jen, I know how you feel. You feel like something's missing, like it's there but slips away just before you can catch it. I'm offering you answers; the truth. We're living in a dream. I'm giving you the chance to wake up, discover reality, but you have to trust me." Sam's features softened as she bent to look her trembling sister in the eye. "I love you Jennifer, like a sister, and you know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. All it takes is one little potion." Sam unbaled her fist, offering the contents to Jennifer with a reassuring smile. In her palm lay a small glass flask, about the size of a bottle of nail polish, its eerie neon blue glow filling the small room.

Jen slowly reached out her hand, taking the flask between her finger and thumb and rolling it gently as she examined the contents.

"You promise? It won't hurt? It'll just give me answers, right?" Sam smiled genuinely and took her sister in her arms, her golden curls bobbing slightly as she shook her head.

"I promise sweetie. You must drink that at exactly 5 minutes to midnight. When that clock strikes 11:55, I need you in bed and drinking that or it won't work. Can you do that?"

"But, my bed time's 7:30." Jennifer looked up at her older sister with innocent eyes. Sam chuckled, waving the stick once again, causing Jennifer's newly acquired clothing and toys to float away to their appropriate homes.

"Not tonight it isn't. Happy birthday baby."

~O~

Jennifer sat in bed, the small flask in her lap the only light penetrating the darkness of the room. 11:50. Jen yawned, struggling to keep her heavy eyelids from falling closed. Sam had said this would give her answers, but how could it? It was just a strange little vile of blue liquid. At first she had been so sure it would work, but as the minutes dragged by on her count down.

11:51. Jen thought back. Only an hour ago had she began to doubt what Samantha had told her...About half an hour that, Jennifer had to rely on pure desperation to see her through. It had to work. She needed answers and there was no other way she would ever get them.

11:52...What was that _thing _Sam was doing earlier? Memories of clothes flying around the room, folding themselves neatly into draws, toys competing for space on shelves floated through her head. It was like...magic. But it couldn't be, could it? Magic was only in Fairy Stories.

11:53. What was that shimmer that Sam had made around the room? How had she done it? With her stick? But how? Sticks didn't make magical purple shimmers. Sticks didn't make objects fly around the room. It just wasn't possible. Her parents had never indulged their children in fantasy. They had never taught them to believe in Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, not even the tooth fairy. Magic was never mentioned, never talked about, but until that moment, Jennifer had never questioned why.

11:54. Time seemed to standstill as Jennifer glued her eyed on the clock. In one minute, she would know the answers; the answers to the feelings of sadness and loss, the answer to the dreams of people she knew but had never met before. This tiny vial was the answer to everything.

~O~

11:54. Sam reached for her wand, casting a silent muffilato charm about herself as she gently eased her bedroom door open and crept down the hall to Jennifer's bedroom. Drawing her wand, Sam cast another muffilato charm over her sister's room. She knew from experience that this would be painful, and tonight, they could not afford to be interrupted.

Carefully, Sam pushed the door forward, meeting the frightened eyes of her younger sister.

"It's ok. I'm just here to make sure you are. I'll sit with you the whole time. I promise, I won't let anything happen to you." Jen nodded and popped the cork from the phial.

11:55. Jennifer shot one last desperate look at her sister before chucking back the contents of the flask, wincing slightly at the sour taste. For a tense minute nothing happened, the two just sat in utter silence; staring, waiting.

The drowsiness hit Jen like a ton of brick, sending her body back onto the bed like a lead wait. Sam smiled. Now all she had to do, was wait.

~O~

Jennifer found herself standing in the middle of a dark room. Well, she could only assume it was a room. The blackness was so dense it gave the impression of infinity stretching out before her. A small spotlight from somewhere above her illuminated a small circle in which she stood.

With a small 'pop' another circle of light appeared across from her. Inside the circle stood a pale, dishevelled woman, her unruly black curls falling manically about her face and spilling over her rag dress.

Jennifer could only stare. This woman seemed so familiar. The woman smiled warmly at Jen, stepping forward so she could stand directly in front of her. Jen gasped as she took in the curls, her fingers automatically grasping to inspect her own.

"Do you know who I am?" The woman's voice echoed eerily in the blackness. Jen shook her head, not trusting her voice. The woman sighed, resting her hand on Jen's curls. "Rennervate." Jennifer gasped as her mind suddenly came into sharp focus, something buried deep inside her painfully snapping. Memories flooded through her; memories from that night, birthday's, Christmases.

"Aurora?" Her head snapped up.

"That's my...but...my name is...who am I?" Aurora fell in a heap on the ground a small sob escaping her throat. "You...who are you?"

The woman knelt next to her, a hand resting on the child's back. "You are Aurora Druella Lestrange, and I am you mother."

"But...how?" Bellatrix sighed.

"The minster didn't like us, didn't like what we stood for. He sent his men to our house. They killed your father, kidnapped you and locked me away. You've been living a dream Aurora. You are not a filthy muggle as they have lead you to believe. You are a pureblood witch, the only heir to the Lestrange fortune. They used you, experimented on you. But that's all over now. Now, you will take your rightful place and you will avenge the injustice that the Ministry has dealt our family."

"As you wish mother." The words left Aurora's mouth before she even had time to consider them and what they meant. Her mouth continued to move spilling out more words she had no control over. "But how?"

"All will be explained to you when you return. The potion will not last much longer and you still have much to do this night." Bellatrix pressed a brief kiss to her daughter's forehead before turning to leave. "Oh and Aurora? Happy birthday my baby."

~O~

Jennifer shot upright in her bed, her forehead covered in sweat and an ear-splitting scream breaking the silence. Sam sat on her chair, a small smile on her face. Jennifer's head spun. That had been one crazy dream. The woman had been there again. She couldn't be her mother. It just wasn't possible. Her name was Jennifer, not Aurora.

"I trust your meeting went well." Jen jumped, shooting her sister a puzzled look. "My potion worked like a charm, didn't it?"

"P-potion? You mean, that was real?"

"Yes. I suppose some introductions are in order. It's nice to meet you Aurora. My name is Amelia Carrow. Welcome to the real world."

**Well, how was that? And once again, I'm sorry for the delays. Please review, I'm dying to know what you think! Thanks for reading guys!**


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